Eating lunch on the go!!!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!

How was your Fathers Day Weekend??? Mine was very eventful! On Fathers day we surprised my dad with a trip to a Pirate Festival near Vallejo, CA! It was a really neat experience complete with live "Mermaids" and a real pirate ship that shot off real canons!

Here are some pictures full of "Piratitude!" ARRRRGH!

It's always fun to get out of town and spend time with your family! 

I feel that one of the hardest things about having a healthy lifestyle is knowing where to go, or what to order while dining out. No matter what adventures are ahead of you that day, its always difficult to stay on track. Most of us live very busy lives, whether its squeezing some sort of lunch at work, or running errands all day and entertaining your kids at the same time, lets face it....most of us don't always have time to prepare a healthy meal. 

In order to be successful its good to have some healthy options in mind before you even walk out the door. Lately i have been trying to do some research for you guys, and find places where you can go in a jiffy to get some healthy meals. So many people think Lean Cuisines and Subway are viable options. Lean cuisines NEVER fill me up personally, and it causes me to snack the rest of the day on what ever is near by. Plus they are full of chemicals and things that aren't really too good for you. Now subway isnt too terrible, its a better option than lots of other places you can choose, but once you order a footlong sandwich, that is a footlong of bread thats enriched, has lots of sugar, and other garbage, not to mention some of the sauces you slather on there. I would say at Subway, PROCEED WITH CAUTION! 

Here are some cool things i've found. Now i understand not all of my readers may have access to some of these places, but you can use some of the ideas at your local favorites!! 

#1 The Sandwich Spot/Yuba City

Lettuce Wraps

These bad boys were DELICIOUS and super filling. At The Sandwich Spot you can make ANY sandwich there into four lettuce wraps. But be CAREFUL! Not all the sandwiches are still a healthy choice even if you say Nix to the bread. Things like meat ball sandwiches or tuna sandwiches soaked in mayo are health nightmares.  I chose the "Dotties Club Sandwich". It had oven roasted turkey breast, avocado, and bacon on it. (Bacon is good for you, your body still needs fats, and its  a good kind of fat. (If you eat paleo style, you understand what i mean!) I didnt stop at just taking the bread off, i also opted for no "secret sauce" and no mayo. Mustard is a great way to still sauce up your sandwiches or lettuce wraps but it also is low fat and really great for you. These four HUGE roll ups cost me about $8.65 including tax. 

#2 7-11 (believe it or not)

Apple Walnut Chicken Salad

I wont lie, i was a little skeptical about getting a salad from the seven eleven...but as i dug in to its fruity/ chickeny goodness i was pleasantly surprised! It was very fresh, and the ingredients were of very good quality. This salad features all white meat chicken breast, apples, dried cranberries, romaine lettuce, walnuts, and i believe feta cheese. Including the dressing this salad is a responsible choice at a mere 340 calories! caloriecount.com gives it a rating of A-.  Plus its a really quick solution for lunch, just grab and go! Its already made! A great idea is to pick it up on the way to work when you're already at 7-11 grabbing your coffee and banana ( i know you're not getting a donut!!!).

#3 Starbucks

Protein Bistro Box

The Starbucks Protein Bistro box is a convenient and delicious way to eat well. Most of us stop at starbucks on a daily basis anyway so why not pick up lunch or even breakfast ahead of time? This box has a good variety of smart choices including sliced apples, grapes, cheese, peanut butter, a bread thingy (What the hell would you call that thing?), and a hard boiled egg. All in all this box is a pretty good choice, theres just one item i would skip personally. I would skip the bread all together and use my apple slices to eat the peanut butter with. Im not a bread hater, i just like to know exactly what is in my bread, and most of the time there's a lot of sugars and mystery ingredients in breads that come from a restaurant. This Box is obviously a great source of protein and its packed with foods that will give you a natural energy boost!! For $4.95 it's an inexpensive way to indulge! 

 I have really enjoyed eating these three items, and i always feel full and satisfied afterwards.  Happy lunching!!! 

Love,

Pookie

Battle Ready

Hello Everyone! I hope you had a great weekend!!



I had a great weekend myself. Minus the ridiculous temperature of about 110 degrees i had a fun time DJing a friends wedding, dancing the night away, and partying. I wish i could tell you that i stayed on track with my dieting! But i didn't....

Thats one of the hardest parts of being successful on your fitness journey. Its always hard to be disciplined and have a good time when you dont have alot of healthy options around you. After eating some serious pasta at the wedding, having a few beers, and one giant and hilarious cupcake food fight later i had completely obliterated any hope of staying on course. In all fairness i didnt actually get to EAT the cupcake, it was mostly in my hair, and all over my face! HAHAHA

The Results of the Cupcake War! 

*My Mom is going to kill me for putting this on here! 

Even though we made a TON of wonderful memories that night, i totally felt terrible the next day. I actually missed my plain foods and salads. Plus i had a nice little hangover too. 

There is nothing wrong with having fun, and every once and a while you can embrace a "cheat meal" and feel fine. I feel that since i am in the very beginning of this journey i need to avoid cheat meals for now, and stay on track... 

Finally yesterday i went back to the gym, with my new little gym scanning key chainy thing i felt like i could conquer the world! Boy was i wrong! After the first 15 minutes of working out with Junior ( my boyfriend, who is a total muscle man) I started feeling terrible! I realized how truly out of shape i am. Everything hurt more than it used to. I got tired faster, and i hated what i was seeing in the big mirrors at the gym. All the thoughts in my mind were like little bullies telling me "Hey, Look how fat you are! You can't do this! Everyone is watching you! Everyone thinks you are a total joke! Everyone here looks better than you! Everyone can't believe that guy who is so in shape is with someone as out of shape as you!" These were all exactly the thoughts going on in my head last night. Out of breath, and already so sore after fifteen minutes into my workout, i sat down for a minute and wanted to just bawl my eyes out! How did i let myself get like this? I was so angry. 

Then i said HELL NO!... to my thoughts, to all my fears, and to my body that was already quitting on me. How can i allow myself to cave and quit AGAIN?!! Thats what i have always done. After a drink of water, and getting my head in the right place, i went back at it! 

Today i'm sore and i'm ready to just sleep in bed and watch movies all day, but most importantly i feel good mentally. I feel happy that i'm fighting my hardest struggle. You can do it too! Theres nothing wrong with falling down over and over as long as you get back up! 

I Can't wait to go back to the gym later tonight! 

Love,

Pookie 

My New Favorite Tools!!!

Hey everyone!!!

It's almost the weekend, you have almost survived another week! How did you do? Did you accomplish any of your fitness goals? Did you make a healthy choice at lunch? One good choice can propell you to success by motivating you and reassuring you that you can make another good choice the next time, and the next, and the next!! i hope you have your healthy snowball rolling!

This week i am happy to say that even though it was hard at some moments, i have eaten really healthy, and im feeling so energized and great! Since monday i have lost 5 pounds. I didnt really expect it to happen so fast, but hey, who's complaining. i didnt starve myself, in fact i ate MORE!

Now i'm going to share some cool discoveries with you guys, they are helping me, maybe they can help you!

MyFitnessPal: App

 

 

This is the IDEAL app for keeping yourself accountable. It also takes away all the guess work about how many calories youve taken in, and how much you have left. You can also log all of your exercises in. Over time if you are dedicated to using the app it will show you your progress! I'm really looking forward to using it along with my gym membership. I cant wait to see all my results.  

 

 

Fitness Magazine:

 

 

 

So far fitness magazine has been a key element to keeping me motivated! Unlike other magazines it shows REAL women working on their fitness, sharing tips, and recipes. We all know i love a good recipe. This magazine is so positive and inspiring. It includes great workouts, question and answer columns, and really interesting articles that can help all kinds of people trying to get fit. Plus it also has the fun fashiony articles that regular womens magazines have. This is pretty much the only magazine i buy now!!

 

 

 

Bai Antioxidant Superfood Infusions:

 

 

All i can say is WOW!!! i actually found this drink at South Butte Market in Sutter. Who would have known?? This is now my new favorite drink over Diet Pepsi, Coffee or even my beloved white monster energy drinks! The Limu Lemon Bai flavor is so refreshing and tastes like homemade lemonade! i was shocked at how good it tasted especially since it only has 5 Calories, 1 gram of sugar, and 0 carbs! Its paleo too!! so YAY for that! Alot of stores are carrying this drink now, and South Butte Market carries them for 2 for $3. Oh and the best part is that it has caffiene in it!! it totally gave me the jolt i needed. I "discovered" this drink at about 7pm last night, and you can bet your sweet booty that i drank both bottles! BAD MISTAKE!!! this is a great drink for the morning, to get you through mid day, or even before a workout. DO NOT drink this close to bed time, my wired self was up until two in the morning. I didnt feel jittery or cracked out, hahaha. I just felt like i could take on the world!! I give these drinks a 10 out of 10!

 

 

Frozen Banana Slices:

 

 

 

I think i couldnt be a successful dieter (i hate that word) if i didnt start making these. I simply peel and slice the banana in meduim sized coins and put them in the freezer, either on a cookie sheet or in a ziplock bag. Freeze over night and enjoy the next day. They taste just like Ice Cream!!! The hardest time for me to be good with my healthy choices is at night time when my sweet tooth starts teasing me into submission. I usually dont care for the texture of bananas but i LOVE the flavor. So once i tried these frozen beauties i was hooked. The texture is ice creamy dreamy! i have had these for the past two nights and my cravings were totally satisfied. Cravings-0, Rebecca-1. 







Hopefully these little goodies ive written about will help you!
I have lots of good ideas for future blog posts, and im also going to be creating a Practically Pookie Facebook page that you can add and give me some suggestions on things youd like to hear more about or have me research for you!

Lets make good, healthy choices together this weekend!!! It's never too late to get your fitness snowball rolling!!!

Love,
Pookie